Thursday, December 31, 2009

18-17-4: Ho Hum, Another One

What is there left to say that hasn't been said so far this season? The Rangers are a flawed franchise from the top down made up of greedy sycophants and fools who can't put an entertaining team on the ice. The team they built has problems up and down the lineup and the man behind the bench is an ego maniacal idiot who the players have clearly tuned out. The players are a bunch of mercenaries and mislead youths who just don't have their heart in their work.

Several people said to me that this 6-0 loss must be rock bottom but really, it can get so very much worse. The Rangers are still above .500, Henrik Lundqvist and Marian Gaborik are both healthy and the wood panel above my seat is still in one piece. When I smash that into bits, when the stars get hurt, when the team falls well out of playoff position and when Dolan raises ticket prices for next season, then, THEN we will hit rock bottom.

But don't get me wrong, we aren't in a very good place right now. For the first time ever, I walked out of the Garden asking for a refund because I paid to watch a hockey game and only one team showed up. I didn't get one. But, like the Rangers themselves said, at least they "play" again tomorrow so we can all try to forget this one.

Before we do, some notes:

*What does it say about your team when your captain is your fourth line winger alongside Brian Boyle and Donald Brashear?

*Brashear ... when your team is getting destroyed by the Broad Street Bullies - a division rival full of goons - and you don't fight anyone, you officially have given up. Nine and a half minutes of ice time and the highlight being him losing the puck twice on the same play to allow Claude Giroux to score the third goal of the game. Hey Colton, hope you are enjoying Toronto.

*On that same note, is there any better way to get back at the team that unceremoniously dumped you for no good reason than scoring in the first minute of your first game back in your old building? Go Bettsy. That is four goals this season, by the way. His replacement, Susan Boyle, has three and has played 17 more games.

*Boyle is just as soft as that overweight British singer despite being 6'7, 250. The biggest waste of a big body since Marek Malik, he doesn't check so much as hug.

*You can't blame any of this debacle on the netminding, although it surely will come back to cost Chad Johnson. The kid allowed all three Gagne goals, including one on the first shot he faced. Welcome to the NHL. While I hope that he will get the start in Carolina, I doubt it now - Torts won't allow that to happen, he'll run Hank into the ground to attempt to save his own ass.

*MDZ got a ton of ice time, made a ton of mistakes and had the defining moment of this season when the puck hopped over his stick on a Ranger power play late in the first period and skittered out of the zone. He just stood there, looking to the sky for answers. Poor kid. The good thing is that if he survives this season, this coach and this team he will come out of it a far better NHL player. If he survives.

*Several of his teammates seem to be already dead. Anisimov, Kotalik, Redden ... all DOA. I would say that they are zombies but zombies always keep trying to get brains, these guys just stand around and look clueless.

*The entire team had that look when Tortorella called his timeout and yelled at them. How professional athletes can not react - at all - when being screamed at by their boss is beyond me. Actually, no, I do know why they don't have to react - because the paycheques keep coming, the first-class planes are still there to carry them from defeat to defeat, the practices in their secluded yuppy neighborhood go on, etc. Accountability folks. There will be accountability this season! Ha-f-ing-Ha.

*Brandon Dubinsky went from an Arnott-esque savior to a Christmas ham; nice to see that he had a merry holiday break.

*We wanted to see what Erik Christensen could do and he missed an empty net. Ugh. If he does that three more times, we will rename him Higgins.

*I could go on with more but really, what's the point. These guys stepped onto the ice already wearing a toe tag. But before I get to the three stars, I will leave off with this question posed by my friend Andrea, "Which will be easier to quit: The Rangers or tobacco? Because they're both KILLING me!"

*PHW Three Stars3-Jeff Carter - two assists and one teammate's wife.2-Danny Briere - one goal and one assist. 1-Simon Gagne - three goals and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars3-Gagne - How can this guy get any credit when he scored three easy goals when the game was already out of hand against a rookie goaltender?2-Claude Giroux - This kid has some serious offensive talent and will be a terror if he can ever fully tap it. 1-Bettsy - One goal, 12:39 of ice time - including 1:40 of the easiest penalty killing he has ever had to do - one hit, one block and 11-5 from the faceoff dot. Shove it Sather. Shove it Tortorella. Shove it deep.

18 comments:

i'm only two decades of age, but i can honestly say tonight was the low point of my ranger-fan-life...for the first i can remember, it was beyond the standard booing...i looked around section 308 and there were just blank stares and the occasional drunk laughing at the putrid play...the situation has become untenable...there isnt a healthy scratch, a hartford callup, or a color-coded play system that could help this team...in the same way you cant fix the team in one night you cant blow it up either, but its definitely time to start planting the dynamite...

Talk about throwing a kid into the fire.Poor Chad Johnson didn't deserve his fate.After the coach PUBLICLY announces thatthe newbie won't play until "sometime" inJanuary, he throws him into the fray in frontof a team that is unable to compete. Greatconfidence boost. First shot goal. Then a few post ringers. The team around him area bunch of gutless punks. I don't know howHank puts up with them on a daily basis.Soon the King will give up too.

I didn't get to watch the game. And now I'm glad that I didn't. I have a serious question... why in the he** did Brashear play for 9 minutes?? That is insane. This guy isn't good enough to play at the AHL level. And it is clear that he can't fight anymore or he would. Nine minutes WHY!?!

You know, my section had a few good moments last night - the "Donald Brassiere" comments left me wondering why I hadn't thought of that before...

Eventually, after a few "Torts Must Go!" chants came up, my dad (who hasn't been to MSG in 18 years and now likely won't go for another 18) shouted "OK that's great, but who comes in after that?". It started an informal poll that had Schoenfeld in the lead. Everyone's thoughts on that?

I'm pretty sure last night's game was a tie-in to today's Twilight Zone marathon. You know, something from another dimension. Millionaires, stuck skating aimlessly around an ice surface, wondering "Who are we? And why are we here? What are those howling voices from above?"

I'm sorry you guys have to go through that misery that Kings fans dealt with for years. Most Kings fans also remember that he was picked just a few spots before Corey Perry. I cant even look at his face and NOT wonder "what if."

The worst part is that he'll have a game where it looks like he gets it. He'll play with an edge, go to the net and undoubtedly score a goal. Then you'll be left baffled for the next month wondering what the hell happened...

Slap Shot Quote Of The Week R.I.P. Reg

How do you feel about the DZ deal?

So who am I?

I am Ranger fan and season ticket holder who is more than a little obsessed with hockey. The first thing I can remember is watching a Ranger game with my dad, listening to him yell "Shoot the puck Barry!" I loathe the Islanders, hate everyone else in the Atlantic and despise Mmmaarrrttttyyyy and Cindy. While I am a objective journalist in real life (seriously), this is NOT a media site and is kept quite far from my profession; it is simply an outlet for me to let loose my opinions of the Blueshirts - very distinctly Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. My Ranger rantings and ravings have appeared on (or been linked to) such notable sites as the New York Times, Puck Daddy, Deadspin and NBC's Pro Hockey Talk - and I can't thank them enough. Comments and criticism are always welcome within the boundaries of good taste; feel free to e-mail me at TrueBlueFan329@gmail.com.And you should follow me on Twitter: @ScottyHockey.

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